Ryūku Sōga
Ryūku Sōga (牙のドラゴン, Sōga Ryūku, Black Dragon, Clawed Fang) is a former shinobi from Sunagakure and the last surviving shinobi from a noble clan who utilized the unique Miasma Release in Sunagakure, the Sōga Clan. Due to his mastery of Miasma Release on the battlefield, he has been widely renowned throughout the shinobi world as Shōton no Ryūku (瘴気リリース, Ryūku of the Miasma Release). After his defection from Sunagakure after the Third Shinobi World War, he began a village called Sabakugakure (砂漠に隠さ, Village Hidden By The Desert) and became the very first and founding Sabakukage (砂漠の影, Desert Shadow). Background Ryūku was born to one of Sunagakure's noble clans, the Sōga clan. A rather dangerous clan that had entered Sunagakure by the end of the Second Shinobi World War, he was born in a period of time where no children were being born into the clan. Due to this, he was treated with much respect and for most of his time growing up, he was given special treatment. He was born into the high house of the clan. Being a noble clan, it was separated into 3 parts, The High House which governed the clan and controlled the decisions, the Defense House which defended the clan and was composed of completely shinobi, and the Low House that had little to no power in the clan. Being that he was in the high house, he was the third in line to become the leader, however he had no interests in becoming a shinobi and rather focused on his academics and was rather interested in art. At the age of 7, he was forced by his father and members of his clan to learn the basics of their Advanced Nature Kekkei Genkai, the Miasma Release. He got the concept right away and was instantly hailed as a prodigy for learning them straightaway. He was talked about often, and it was said that he could become a shinobi, however he never took up the opportunity to do so. Time flied quickly. Before anyone knew it, he had turned 14. At that age, sunagakure had fought in several conflicts with Konohagakure and Iwagakure respectively. During these feuds, the Sōga clan fought quite frequently among the front lines. The Sōga clan was usually never called out for battle unless it was a very serious matter like the fate of the village, so it was obvious that a war was brewing. The feuds went on and sunagakure was desperate. For the longest, they had been considered the weakest village due to their low shinobi forces. Because of this, they made an urgent plan to start drafting teenagers that were Ryūkus age into becoming a shinobi, dragging them away from their homes and putting them under immense stress and pain to try and quickly make them strong. It was a time of depression, many parents feared of their children being drafted. Fortunately, Ryūku wasn't one of the ones to be drafted. Only time would tell if this drastic plan would work, but they would have to find out.. The next night would be tragic for Ryūku, changing his personality and perspective on life altogether. Several konohagakure shinobi had been set out to infiltrate Sunagakure with one mission and one mission only: eradicate the Sōga clan. The mission had been put in place so the annoying Miasma Release would never see the light of day again. It was at least midnight. Konohagakure shinobi had successfully infiltrated the lower house. They were all resting peacefully to awaken to the sound of murder. Their fellow clansmen were being struck down before their eyes. Some tried running, the noble men of the clan began to fight back, but their efforts were futile. There was no trace of life. The lower house had been completely annihilated by Konohagakure. This alerted the defense house, so they woke up and checked out what was going on. They saw what had happened to their fellow clansmen and cursed the konohagakure shinobi. They attempted to kill the shinobi that had killed their family members and put up quite a fight, eliminating several konohagakure shinobi before getting utterly outnumbered and killed. From there, they killed the rest of those that were sleeping in the defense house and moved on. The next house was Ryūku's, the High House. Ryūku was awoken to an annoying noise. He heard constant footsteps and he could swear he heard screams and clanks of metal as well. It bothered him so much, he flipped the light switch, and looked around his enormous bedroom. He found nothing that he left on to make such a noise. He then looked out of his window, still to no avail. He began to fall back asleep, but the noise persisted. He finally opened his room door, and looked downstairs, to a shocking sight. His family, mother, father, everyone who he had known and come to love, getting killed by the hands of konohagakure. He was absolutely frozen. As if something was holding onto him and wouldn't let go. He shivered and was shaking greatly, it was the scariest thing he had ever seen. He has goose bumps that burned, it felt like his skin was on fire. His eyes glared with fear, bulging. He didn't know what to do, only one option remained: run, run as fast as he could. He headed back in his room, and slammed the door, hyperventilating. He opened his window and climbed out, shutting it on his way. He looked at the other two houses, they were destroyed. Konoha was fleeing the village as they had caught the attention of all of sunagakure. In a panic, Ryūku ran as far as he could. Nowhere to go, he barely fell asleep outside in the sand, his mind full of thoughts. He began to gain a new feel, which was hatred. He wanted to avenge his clan. He didn't want this to happen. He knew it was insane, but he knew what he must do: become a shinobi. The next day, while Sunagakure was investigating the crime and discovered it was konoha, a determined Ryūku confronted the Third Kazekage. He asked the Kazekage something that he never thought he'd hear in a time like this, to become a shinobi. He told him of the dangers and with what happened to his clan the previous night, he was lucky he survived and might be emotionally unstable for the job of a shinobi, but Ryūku constantly insisted, until The Third finally gave in. He enrolled him, and said he would begin training the next week. Training One week later, Ryūku had been sleeping in the bunkers soon to be shinobi slept in. He woke up to the moment of truth, the day he would become a shinobi. He was awakened by a loud bell and a loudspeaker that told them to get up, get ready for the day and head to the kitchen for breakfast. He got ready and put on clothes and headed to the kitchen. There he was assigned a seat and meals were given individually to the young men and women who wanted to be shinobi. The meals were rather large, and with how many people that were there, it looked as if it were a feast. Though due to the treatment Ryūku got throughout his life, it was nothing big. Other young teenagers his age asked him questions like who he was, or why did he want to become a shinobi. He responded to the questions briefly, and didn't look at anyone, only viewing them in the corner of his eye or when they were not looking. They introduced themselves to him, and also introduced another one who didn't speak who was sitting right next to Ryūku, Sasori. They explained how he never spoke to anyone and had recently lost his parents, and some joked that they might have a Sasori #2 on their hands. Disregarding their attitudes, he realized the similarities him and sasori had. They seemed to be outcasts who had just suffered the loss of their parents. Ryūku sparked a conversation with the boy and got him to speak, the two were instantly friends. The bell rang once more and a loudspeaker came out telling them breakfast was over and to follow the instructor out of the kitchen into the training area. They all lined up in a straight line and headed into a training area. It looked like a sports gym and there were a vast number of chairs. Once they were all seated, they were all taught the basics of Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and Genjutsu. Most didn't pay much attention, but Ryūku and Sasori paid the utmost of attention. They were also taught the basics of chakra and the ninja world, and were dismissed. The next day, they were given chakra paper to test their nature affinity and were told what nature affinities were. The rest tested, passing the paper across the soon-to-be shinobi. When the paper came across Ryūkus way, it vanished within the air, which was quite odd. In fact, this had been a sign in his clan, a sign that the said person would have great chakra control and have the possibility to become an amazing shinobi. The next few weeks passed and most of the shinobi were considered prodigies. They had got the basics of a shinobi down so fast, it was amazing progress. However, they would have to cease the training, because the war had already begun. Ryūku was skilled in the Miasma Release he had been taught when he was young and created several of his own jutsu and was skilled in kenjutsu and taijutsu. Sasori on the other hand had trained in puppetry, using his own unique puppets, Black Ant, Crow, and Salamander. They stood at the top, their abilities greatly surpassed all of their classmates. Because of this, they were inputted onto the front lines while the others were put in positions like border patrol and the supporting lines. The Third Shinobi World War Ryūku and Sasori were looked down upon because they were kids among the adults. They were quite slow in missions and put the team in danger several times, however they did save the crew a few times and were at least respected as shinobi, despite their ranks and how they stood out. While most of the shinobi stayed as they were, Ryūku and Sasori were known for how they constantly grew and kept improving and improving. Ryūku was already a master a his Miasma Release, and used his poisonous in collaboration with Sasori's puppet combination. Due to this, they became known as The Suna Duo. They also got seperate epithets, Ryūku's being Shōton no Ryūku (瘴気リリース, Ryūku of the Miasma Release) and Sasori's being Sasori of the Red Sand (赤砂のサソリ, Akasuna no Sasori). Due to their battle experience, the two quickly became jounin level and slowly gained respect and were regarded as heroes of war throughout all of sunagakure. On one dangerous battle with Konohagakure, Sasori and Ryūku ran into Minato Namikaze, konoha's reputed yellow flash and one of the most dangerous shinobi alive. Due to minato namikazes mass speed prowess and godly tactics, all of their team had been murdered and they were the last one left. Minato praised them on their strength to survive against him for long, and began to attack. Tired from battle, Sasori fell due to exhaustion. It was only Ryūku that was left. Ryūku gulped and pulled his sword. Minato was shocked because of the fact he was still running despite the fact every village gave a "flee-onsight" order to anyone who dared see him in battle. Minato threw his Flying Thunder God Kunai and appeared instantaneously behind Ryūku. Minato said a final goodbye to the suna-nin, however he forced himself to fall to the ground so he would avoid getting stabbed. Unknown to minato, he did a jutsu behind his back. Minato used his flying thunder god to transport to a kunai that was behind Ryūku and stabbed him, then marked his body. As minato thought it was all over, the clone dissolved into a thick, purple gas. It was a substitution, made of his deadly miasma. Covering his mouth to not breathe in the fumes, minato jumped back and saw one final sight. Sasori on the back of Ryūku, the two were out of range from the scattered Thunder God Kunai. Ryūku and Sasori were one of the only ones to survive a confrontation with the deadly shinobi that would soon become the hokage. After the War After the war, Ryūku became worldwide renowned for his use of the deadly miasma. His use of the release was higher than any member of the clan had ever utilized prior to their annihilation. Despite his grudge on konohagakure, He wasn't surprised at all that Minato became the Fourth Hokage, infact, he was quite happy. He fell into a state of depression when Sasori fell into the hands of the akatsuki's hands. Due to this, he set out to take back his only friend and his rival. He defected from konohagakure and became a non-criminal missing-nin, researching the akatsuki greatfully before it's downfall. He didn't partake in any world events like feuds. After hearing of his apparent death at the hands of a konoha-nin and Chiyo, he grew angry. He wanted a perfect village. One that didn't know war or losing a clan, something that was in the protection of his hands. After the Fourth Shinobi World War, he took over the deserts in the world and made Sabakugakure, the village hidden by the desert, and is currently working on gaining more shinobi for this village. Appearance Ryūku's appearance is rather odd for suna-nin. He has long straight, thick black hair that hangs down to his waist. During his time in the war, he wore the basic flak jacket for sunagakure with his forehead protector strapped and stretched around his waist. He is rather tall, standing at 6'3 and has a thick build that is in the middle, not chubby or fat, but not skinny. He has rather pale skin despite him living in a desert-like environment for all of his life. More soon Personality Ryūku was once a boy who had everything handed to him. Therefore as a child, he was rather spoiled and talked to his elders as if they were his peers or underneath him. After the death of his clan, he had a new view on life and therefore his personality changed almost drastically when he became a shinobi soon afterwards. He has always been rather respectful to those he looked at highly, such as his former comrade and best friend Sasori. He is a determined individual who is always looking for new light in the world, and new possibilities. Aside from the politeness that he leaves behind, his arrogance from his younger days has not left him, especially in battle. In his time on the battlefield, he has always hold a grudge against konohagakure, being brutal to konohagakure nin that have been defeated in battle and often torturing them with his use of the Miasma Release and watching them die at his hands gives him a certain thrill. In battle he is well known for his use of taunts and "percentage meter" a fake-meter that was made up by some say "his ego" which determines how much strength he is putting into one battle, which will usually be low to taunt the opponent due to it being an insult to surpress yourself during a deathmatch. He is a very high intellectual and is often strategical rather than a reckless killer like most shinobi out there. He tends to mix up his fighting style with his vast variety of skills. It is not in his preferences to go into a fight without atleast some knowledge on who he is fighting, therefore he spends his free time studying on the shinobi world frequently. Abilities Intellect Miasma Ninjutsu Taijutsu Kenjutsu